Brain Rot or Brain Break? Plus Ryan’s Latest Video Game Picks
A Ten News Deep Dive: Episode 631
🎮 Is too much screen time giving us “brain rot”? In today’s Ten News Deep Dive, Ryan and Pam break down what the internet-famous term means and why people are talking about how endless scrolling might affect our brains.
🕹️ Ryan also shares the games he’s loving right now, from Pokémon to a brand-new sci-fi adventure that might be a future Game of the Year.
🎨 Then we talk about creativity and brain breaks—including an interview with Anthony Deptula, founder of TAG Magazine, a DIY magazine where kids can submit their own writing, art, and ideas.
❓ Plus, Owen joins us for Ten News Trivia with a Pokémon question that might surprise you!
Check out TAG Magazine here and use the code TENNERS20 for 20% off.
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Transcript:
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
<SFX Door opens>
PAM: Goooood morning Ry…well, you look like you’re about to say something important.
RYAN: I AM PAM. THANK YOU FOR NOTICING. First off, you smell like banana pancakes, did you bring me any?
PAM: No… I did not. I’m sorry.
RYAN: Dangnabbit. Okay…Well, that brings me to my second point: we’ve had very cold weather this year, and we’ve been working very, very hard and I think we deserve a brain break.
PAM: Yeah, I’m in.
RYAN: Wait, really?!
PAM: Of course. We gotta give ourselves brain breaks. Which reminds me, a Ten’er asked us about “brain rot.” So why don’t we break that down and cover the creative things we love doing instead of brain rotting.
RYAN: SEE! This is why, you, Pamela Kirkland, are the absolute best person I hang out with.
PAM: I appreciate that, Ryan Willard.I think you’re pretty cool too. And I’m glad you forgot that I didn’t bring you pancakes.
RYAN: Wait, whut.
PAM: It’s Friday, March 13th.
RYAN: This is a Ten News Deep Dive.
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
RYAN: So wait. We don’t have to talk about the news today?
PAM: Nope. We gotta refresh our brains, do something different than we normally do while we’re in the studio.
RYAN: What are some creative things you do, to have some fun, or relax?
PAM: Reading and listening to music will always be my go tos. But if I want to use my hands AND my brain, my favorite thing at the moment is… coloring.
RYAN: Wait, coloring? You’re still allowed to color when you’re grown up…?
PAM: Of course, you can color at any age. I know coloring might sound like something just for little kids, but it’s actually a great way to relax your mind. When you’re coloring, you’re focusing on something simple like shapes and colors instead of homework, news, or whatever else might be stressing you out. And the best part is, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. I have extra special colored pencils I like to use, but sometimes I go old school and break out my crayons. I might even start coloring right now, what do you want to do?
RYAN: You know I love to play games, and there’s been so many things that I’ve been playing and want to play…I got a sneak preview of a sci-fi game that’s not coming out until April 17th and I think it could be a game of the year contender and and and–Can I just… tell you about it while you color?
PAM: Of course you can, go for it!
RYAN: These are 4 things I’ve been playing, that I’m super into right now.
The Lego Smart Play system came out on March 1st and Lego let me play with all the new sets. The Smart Play system’s launch collaboration is with Star Wars and the Smart Brick and tags bring those sets to life. The Smart Brick is the size of a normal 8-studded brick but has lights, sounds and sensors inside of it. It’s like a little computer, and when you put a Smart Tag next to it, it has different lights and sounds. So if you have it on the X-Wing ship, you can hear the flight sounds, it can shoot lasers and take damage, and when you fly it upside down, R2-D2 screams. Or if you have a lightsaber smart tag near a brick, it sounds just like a lightsaber. What I’m most curious about, is how people will use the Smart Brick and tags to do things that not even Lego imagined! If you want to see them in action, I did a collab video with our friends at First Stop News. It’s on the First Stop News Youtube page, and the Ten News social pages.
PAM: Yeah those are definitely not the Lego bricks I grew up playing with. But those sound cool. Have you been playing with any Pokémon stuff?Thank you for asking, of course I have. Pokémon just turned 30 years old and I’ve been playing to celebrate. Which game? Three of them, actually! I still haven’t beaten Pokémon Legends ZA, shoutout to Ayayp45 who said they’re playing it too. And then I’m playing the old school Pokemon FireRed which was originally on Gameboy Advance and now it’s on Switch. But what’s pulling me away from those, is Pokémon Pokopia. It’s that cozy life sim, and just so different from any other Pokémon game I’ve played. I think I’ve only scratched the surface. Pokopia is exclusively on the Switch 2, while FireRed and ZA are on both Switch systems.
And since Mario Day was on Tuesday, March 10th, I should mention that I got a hands on preview of Super Mario Wonder Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park. Wonder was one of my favorite games of 2024, and one of the best Mario games I’ve ever played.
4. The Switch 2 Update adds some graphical improvements and other bonuses, like Rosalina being playable. But Meetup in Bellabel Park is what shines, it’s multiplayer mayhem that turns Super Mario Wonder into it’s own version of Mario Party. Which is as chaotic and fun as it sounds. Super Mario Wonder Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park drops on March 26th.
PAM: Okay, I’m definitely down to play Bellabel Park, as long as you don’t get too upset when I beat you. So what’s that sci-game you were talking about…?Last but certainly not least, is a game called Pragmata. I got a super secret sneak preview of the game and I’m telling you, it might be a game of the year contender. You play as Hugh, an astro person with a cool suit of armor that’s investigating a moon base. And when it’s struck by a lunar quake, he’s separated from his team and left with Diana. She appears to be a very young girl, but she’s actually a powerful robot. Together, Hugh and Diana have to fight against the moon base’s AI defense system, aka a bunch of crazy robots. But here’s the twist, Diana rides on Hugh’s back and helps him by hacking the robots. So when you play the game, you’re not only battling the robots, but you’re hacking them at the same time. Which sounds pretty crazy, but the controls and gameplay mechanics are REALLY fun. It’s very original and from what I’ve played, I’m digging the story and the relationship between Hugh and Diana. Pragmata drops on April 17th on PC, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2, but there is a free demo out now on all platforms!
PAM: Okay, you’ve got plenty to play…is there anything you can do on your brain break that doesn’t involve electronics?
RYAN: Ummm—I—actually—am…not…sure.
PAM: Alright, we’ll have a think on that–
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
PAM: Alright, one of our Ten’ers wrote in and asked us to cover something called “brain rot.” First off, thank you for sending us that idea.
RYAN: I think it’s the coolest when Ten’ers write in. So Pam, what is your definition of Brain Rot?
PAM: Well Brain Rot was the Oxford word of the year in 2024, and according to them it’s “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.”
RYAN: So, basically if you consume too much low quality content or social media, it’ll make your brain slow, foggy or…stupid?
PAM: More or less. The first recorded use of the term was in 1854 in the book Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. In the book, Thoreau criticizes people and says they prefer simple ideas instead of complex ideas. He sees it as society’s mental decline.
RYAN: So if Thoreau were talking about today, it’d be like how some people used to watch a lot of movies, which were 90+ minutes, but now, they watch more short videos that are one or two minutes?
PAM: Yup. Brain Rot is fueled by doomscrolling, zombie scrolling and social media engagement loops. Apps are designed to keep you on them, lost in content. Watching, engaging, watching, engaging.
RYAN: I did see a study that was published last year that said brain rot was a growing concern among adolescents and young adults. How it can lower their concentration, and overall cognitive functions aka thinking, knowing and understanding things. I’ll throw a link to the study in the show notes in case you want to take a look! It’s still a pretty new concept… is brain rot always bad?
PAM: Well, we don’t want anyone’s brain to not work as well… and every brain has an appetite to consume things. Scrolling has become the easiest and most accessible thing for a brain to consume. But if you can replace the screen time with something else…
RYAN: WAIT! What else?!
PAM: I might know someone…but before we get into that, let’s take a quick break and touch some grass.
RYAN: Alright Pam, I got it! This magazine is a non-digital way that I can creatively use my brain.
PAM: Great! You know what’s another way? A little trivia… Owen?
OWEN: Thanks Pam! Trivia is and always will be one of the best ways to exercise your brain. And today’s trivia is gonna cover one of my favorite topics, Pokemon! Pokemon is the highest grossing franchise of all time and was created by Satoshi Tajiri. But what did Tajiri do as a kid that inspired his idea for Pokemon? Was it…
He set a world record for sleeping, and was nicknamed Snorelax…
He ate Poké bowls for school lunch
He accidentally poked a hole in a basketball or…
He collected bugs
The answer is… D! Satoshi Tajiri’s childhood hobby was being out in nature and collecting bugs! That hobby inspired the idea of Pocket Monsters, which he then brought to Nintendo. Tajiri then worked on it with the legendary creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto. And in 1996, Pocket Monsters Red and Green was released in Japan for the Game Boy. And in 1998, it was released in the US and renamed Pokémon Red and Blue.
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
PAM: Thank Owen, and that was our March Deep Dive. How are you feeling, Ry?
RYAN: I’m feeling great, though, I think I want to try…coloring, next?
PAM: Well I’ve got the color pencils and books to make that happen. Can I try out that Lego Smart Brick? I have some ideas…
RYAN: Of course! But first, we should give Ten News Snaps out!
PAM: And before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups.
<AD BREAK>
RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!
PAM: A Ten’er named Pookie Dancer Face left us another five star Apple podcast review and said, “Because of Ryan I decided to make 3 spaceships, 1 horse, for year of the horse, and 7 giant pirate ships. I love your pod.” Thanks so much Pookie Dancer Face! That is a lot of Lego building and I’m very impressed!
RYAN: Yeah, that’s more than I’ve built all year, so great job! And a Ten’er named Firestar said, “I love this podcast. My favorite Lego I’ve ever built was a giant Lego aircraft carrier. I built it myself and a halo, pelican and scorpion.” Ummmm, that is ALSO very impressive. You built the Halo Pelican and Scorpion AND an aircraft carrier all by yourself, or were they sets?! Either way, I am very impressed.
PAM: And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website.
RYAN: And if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!
PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
RYAN: The Ten News creative team is quietly coloring and building lego inventions and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas, the Duke of Earl Davis and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody.
PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright, Albright, Albright! and show creator Tracy Takes the Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.
RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.
